Second Chances
by uoduck
Summary: Brianna Potter comes out of the war with a permanent limp and has reached the edge of her rope. Her friends are all dead and she has a death wish. Magic ends up granting her one wish but in a peculiar way: a new family and a second chance at a childhood. Genderbent Harry Potter. Steve/Bucky.
1. Chapter 1

AN:

So I was emotionally compromised when I watched the Once Upon a Time episodes with Jefferson and Grace. This was born a few days later.

Genderbent, deaged harry potter.

I don't own either Harry Potter or Avengers or Captain America.

* * *

"Well, we have many children waiting to be adopted," Olivia remarked, glancing at the two men. "All of them would be so happy to have a new home."

"Do any..." the man with the metal arm trailed off, fidgeting a little. Olivia watched as his metal arm flexed and she could see how he was once an assassin.

"Buck?"

Olivia watched as the two men tuned into each other and smiled softly. They seemed like they were each other's world, no more, no less. She of course knew that one of them was Captain America and the other used to be the Winter Soldier. But the way they were around her and just the little that she had seen of them... she hadn't seen a couple further in love than they were.

Rogers glanced at her apologetically then gently tugged Barnes away from her, probably to have a private conversation. She nodded and gestured to a corner of her office.

"Go ahead. I'll wait," Olivia said.

Rogers smiled at her then she watched him tilt his forehead against Barnes' and wrap an arm around him.

Olivia turned back to her paperwork, successfully tuning out the hushed conversation before her. The two of them had already submitted the first set of paperwork so they were now coming to see the children. She glanced at her computer briefly, checking to make sure that there were no other appointments on the calendar. When she heard a throat clearing, she looked up to see them both staring at her expectantly.

"May we see the children?" Rogers asked, politely.

"Of course," Olivia said, standing up and leading the way through a door and down a hallway. "You said on the paperwork that you were open to either a boy or a girl?"

"Yes," Barnes said. "We don't care about the sex of the child."

"Or the gender," Rogers added.

"Or any disabilities that they might have," Barnes put in, walking alongside Rogers.

Olivia tried not to smile at that but it was a near thing. "My assistant should have gotten the children ready this morning. Ah, here we are."

Olivia led the two of them through a doorway and into the hall where potential adopters could interact with the children. All the children were assembled, sitting amongst the small tables. The teenagers were all together at one while the younger were sitting, depending on whether they were friends or not.

"Children, these are Steve Rogers and James Barnes," Olivia called out, studying the children for a minute then turning to the prospective parents. "They are looking to adopt."

There was silence for a minute then she watched as the children started to mutter excitedly amongst themselves. Her eyes scanned the crowd again, knowing there was one missing but...

"Madison?"

One of the older girls stood up and shuffled over to stand in front of Olivia. Madison had been here for a while and was the one to usually know where the younger girls were. Olivia watched her glance at Rogers and Barnes then turn her attention back to her.

"Where's Brianna?"

Madison looked down at the floor then at the door to the girl's dormitories. "I didn't see her when you knocked on our door. She might..."

Olivia watched as Madison's eyes widened. "Mason and Will aren't here!"

Olivia stiffened then pulled out her pager and called Madison. Mason and Will were the oldest boys here and they were also bullies. And Brianna wasn't exactly physically able to get around easily.

"What is it?" Rogers asked, looking down at Madison then at Olivia. Barnes glanced down at Madison then scanned the room, taking in the rest of the children then back to her.

Olivia sighed. "Mason and Will-"

"They're bullies," Madison interrupted anxiously. Her eyes were glancing at the door then back at Rogers and Barnes and back to Olivia.

Rogers and Barnes both stilled. Rogers frowned then turned to stare at Olivia, eyes hardening a little. Olivia stared as Steve Rogers turned into Captain America right before her eyes. He didn't have his shield with him but still, the change was visible enough.

"Can we help?" Barnes asked, flesh hand slipping into Rogers' hand next to him.

Olivia glanced down at Madison then at the rest of the children, already pointedly looking at Madison. The young girl returned the look and went to go sit with the others but not before taking in Rogers and Barnes.

"Be careful with Brianna," Madison offered, giving them a meaningful look then going to sit at a table with two other girls.

"What does she mean by that?" Rogers asked as Olivia gestured for them to follow her. They trailed after her as she went back through the door, passing Micheal on the way. Micheal was one of the other caretakers here so she figured that the children were in good hands with him.

"Brianna Evans came to us with a permanent limp in her left leg," Olivia answered as they went deeper into the facility. "She has trouble walking fast or far."

"The two boys that the older girl mentioned," Rogers started. "She said they were bullies. Was she suggesting..."

Olivia hesitantly nodded. "Some of the older kids here take to bullying Brianna with more enthusiasm than we would have liked."

"Does she fight back?" Barnes asked curiously as they left the building entirely through what was probably one of the many doors. The courtyard they entered was moderately big and had a few picnic tables then a basketball court and a huge grassy area with a big tree in the middle of it. It was overcast and drizzling out, probably soon to be pouring rain as it was in the middle of winter.

"She's only eight," Olivia said then led them to where they could yelling near a tree in the courtyard. "But she tries."

"GIVE MY BEAR BACK!"

Olivia grimaced. "They took her bear... This is bad; she loves that thing, carries it around with her always."

She headed straight to where the three little kids were standing. Mason and Luke were tossing Brianna's bear back and fourth like a game of fetch. Brianna was slowly hobbling back and fourth between them but never quite succeeding in pulling it from their hands. Olivia could see tear tracks on her cheeks as well as tears that were already forming in her light green eyes.

"That's... it's a Bucky bear," Rogers said, a surprised and fond hint to his voice. He glanced at Barnes and smiled softly. Olivia could tell the minute that the two boys heard Captain America; they stopped what they were doing and looked up at the three adults.

"Mason, Luke, what on earth were you two doing?" Olivia asked. The two boys were both ten years old, definitely old enough to know better.

"Anna had another nightmare last night," Luke said, pouting. "Woke all of us up."

"Just because you could hear her from the other side of the wall, doesn't mean you should take her bear," Olivia scolded, inwardly wincing at hearing that Brianna had had another nightmare. "Now go back into the meeting hall. Micheal will have to talk to you two."

Olivia watched the two of them sprint off and sighed. "Those two... I swear. They'll probably grow up to be supervillains."

Rogers glanced at her, raising an eyebrow.

"I was kidding," Olivia said steadily, then started to go pick up Brianna's bear.

Only for Barnes to beat her to it.

* * *

Brianna stood there in front of the tree, reaching an arm out to the tree to hold herself up. She was breathing heavily, her heart racing; she always hated those two. They always cornered her in the play room when she had loud nightmares. And they called her a freak sometimes which triggered her memories of... her past family. The Dursley's never were good memories.

"Hey, kiddo."

Brianna started and turned to look at whoever had approached her, her eyes widening at the sight that met her. She glanced at where he was holding her bear with his metal arm. The man was crouched in front of her, on his knees. He held out the bear toward her, waiting, studying her. She reached out and grabbed it, pulling it close to her chest. She also tugged on some of her hair to cover up her scar, not wanting him to see it. She saw his eyes follow her hand then go back to looking at her.

"I've heard some not so good things about those bears," James Barnes commented, glancing at her.

Brianna narrowed her eyes. "That's because people are stupid."

Brianna turned to look over Barnes' head when she heard an unfamiliar laugh and her eyes widened again. Captain America was standing over with Olivia, smiling at both of them.

"You heard the lady, Bucky," the leader of the Avengers said. "Guess you'll have to stop thinking that yourself."

"Suppose I will. Bucky Barnes."

Brianna watched him hold out his flesh arm toward her. She glanced between his hand and his face then back to his hand.

"Brianna Evans," Brianna replied, hesitantly shaking his hand then shuffling back an inch or two. Her left leg mostly held then she put her hands behind her back and glanced at the ground, finding the grass under her feet to be very interesting.

"You're quite serious for a eight year old," Captain America remarked, coming to crouch next to Bucky.

Brianna glanced up at the both of them, looking back and fourth between Bucky and Captain America. "Is it Superhero Day today?"

"No, sweetie," Olivia strode over to stand next to her. "They're here to pick out a child."

"Then why are you guys staying around me?" Brianna asked, frowning.

Cap raised an eyebrow. Bucky narrowed his eyes.

"What makes you say that?" Cap asked.

"'Cause I'm no good," Brianna muttered, pushing her black hair behind her right ear and hugging her Bucky bear tighter. "A freak."

The three sharp inhales she heard next made her look up again.

"You're not a freak," Cap said, exchanging a look with Bucky.

"Who has called you that?" Bucky asked, metal arm flexing a little.

"Those boys," Brianna responded.

Olivia sighed. "Well then. Luke and Mason will be receiving a talking to. Shall we move this indoors? It is rather cold out."

"Brianna, do you need help?" Olivia added gently, glancing down at her.

Brianna shook her head, blinking her eyes against the pain that had suddenly made itself known. She should have known better to run on her leg; she just couldn't seem to get used to it. It wasn't like any adults in her past life had really helped her when she needed it. "Not really."

She braced herself on the tree for one last minute then pushed away, sidestepping the two superheros. Brianna watched them stand up and could feel them staring at her and murmuring. But she just started to follow Olivia dutifully, automatically.

When they were just about at the door, Brianna stiffened when her leg got worse. She unwillingly let out a whimper and would have fallen, had it not been for strong arms coming around her. She started to squirm but when she heard Bucky's voice and realized that there was one flesh arm and one metal arm holding her. She then cautiously settled and burrowed into his arms.

* * *

AN: On a sidenote, anyone want me to write a hp/once upon a time? It would probably be genderswapped hp/jefferson kind of a deal though. Just wondering...


	2. Chapter 2

Steve followed Bucky and the head woman back into the facility, trailing just a few feet behind Bucky. The girl had ended up snuggling into Bucky's arms, tucking her head on his shoulder. It would have been cute and had it been a different situation, Steve would have been smiling softly.

They had both heard the whimper coming from the young girl called Brianna but Bucky had beat him to catching her. Steve winced when he heard another quiet whimper coming from Brianna, even when Bucky was probably carrying her very gently. He wondered what had caused her leg to be permanently damaged; she was wearing loose sweat pants so they couldn't see what it was.

"Is there something that she takes for the pain?" Bucky asked quietly, a little anxiously.

Olivia glanced worriedly at them as she led them back to her office. "Yes, just a minute. I'll go get it. You can make yourselves comfortable in here. Try to keep her relaxed if you don't mind; if she gets more stressed, her leg gets worse."

Steve watched as Bucky went to sit down in one of the more comfortable looking chairs and went to sit in the one next to him. Brianna slumped but stayed in his lap, left leg out at an awkward angle. Steve could also see that she was holding onto Bucky's metal arm, like it was a lifeline or something. Her other hand was still holding onto the bear.

"It hurts."

Steve saw Bucky wince and they exchanged glances. Steve looked at Briana, studying.

"Brianna, do you know what caused your injury?"

Brianna stiffened then shook her head, voice a little muffled, "No. I think I was born with it."

"We could get Banner to look at it," Bucky murmured. Steve glanced at him, raising an eyebrow. _Is she the one?_

Bucky returned the look, nodding his head slightly. _She's the one. _The girl had shown no hesitation or fear whatsoever toward either Bucky or Steve. And more importantly, toward Bucky's metal arm. The other kids had a little fear in their eyes when they had looked Steve and then Bucky over but Brianna hadn't.

"Banner?" Brianna turned to look up at both of them, wincing a little. "Who's that?"

"He's-"

Steve glanced up at the door, watching Olivia walk in and quietly close the door.

"This is the only thing that helps," Olivia said, walking over to them and holding out a bottle of something.

Bucky reached out to take it from her with his flesh arm and glanced down at it. "This is the sort of lotion that people with scars have."

"Yes. She has a rather peculiar scar on her leg," Olivia replied. "And it's the only thing that can numb the pain. It does make her sleepy though."

"Brianna, do you mind if I put the stuff on for you?" Bucky asked then looked up at Olivia. "Assuming you don't mind."

* * *

Brianna turned to look up at Bucky then glanced at Cap then nodded, yawning a little. "Yeah..."

She pulled her arm away from Bucky's metal arm and reached down to pull up her pant leg up on her left foot. Brianna heard twin gasps come from the man whose lap she was sitting on and his partner.

"What kind of thing would leave that kind of mark or injury?" Cap asked.

"We don't know. She wouldn't tell us when we asked."

The minute that she felt the lotion being rubbed into her skin, she sighed in relief and relaxed entirely. Brianna knew what had caused the injury; it had been a combination of a cruciatus curse and some other curse that she hadn't heard the incantation. The scar it had left was unlike any scar anyone had ever seen: black and red raised skin forming a jagged line down her calf. She hadn't ever told anyone that she might be more than just a plain human girl so the people didn't know.

"Brianna, may I ask you a question?" Cap said.

"Already asked one," Brianna replied drowsily, blinking her eyes to keep them open. She was barely keeping from just swaying further into Bucky's lap and falling asleep.

Bucky snorted above her, massaging some more lotion into her leg before capping the lid onto the tube. Olivia chuckled a little.

"What Steve here means to ask is, would you like for us to be your parents?" Bucky asked quietly.

Brianna was just closing her eyes when she sat bolt upright, glancing between Bucky and Steve. "Really?"

"It wouldn't be easy," Steve said, staring at her with a small smile on his face. "I'm an Avenger."

"I know," Brianna said. "You think I wouldn't have picked out the- 'S fine."

She saw them both narrow their eyes at her cut off sentence. "I've had worse parents."

"Worse?" Steve asked, a hint of steel coming through. "Did they do this?"

Brianna watched as he gestured toward her leg and reached down to pull her pant leg back over it.

She glanced at Bucky who had tensed beneath her. "These parents have names and addresses?"

"Bucky! Not in front of the child!" Steve exclaimed, a little horrified. "Do they?"

Brianna giggled.

Both Steve and Bucky looked at her and smiled.

"I would like that," Brianna replied, grinning a little hesitantly then yawning as her day crept up onto her and the lotion did its' work.

"Good," Bucky remarked, glancing at her then at Olivia who was smiling at them. "Why don't I take care of the paperwork then?"

"Brianna, you want to move laps?" Steve asked shyly, opening his arms up. "Let Bucky up?"

Brianna nodded sleepily, rubbing her eyes with a small fist and moving across Bucky's lap into Steve's arms. She curled up up against his chest and closed her eyes, promptly falling asleep.

* * *

"Olivia, how did Brianna come into your care?" Bucky asked, occasionally glancing at Steve and their new little girl. Steve was tentatively running a hand through her moderately short black hair, smiling softly at her.

Olivia sighed. "We honestly don't know where she came from. She just appeared on the front porch one day and she didn't have any parents or adults taking care of her. We tried to look up any information on her online but there was nothing."

"Did she have the scar on her forehead when she arrived?" Steve asked quietly, standing up with little Bria in his arms and walking over to stand alongside Bucky.

"You noticed that too?" Bucky asked, glancing at Steve and narrowing his eyes a little.

Steve nodded and leaned back a little to move some of Bria's hair from her face. "Yes, it looks like a..."

"Lighting bolt?" Olivia interrupted, inclining her head at the both of them.

"Yeah," Bucky agreed, signing on the required lines. Stark had attempted to join them and would have probably insisted that he have Pepper do the paperwork but they had both wanted this to be something private that they did together. Though, all of the paperwork would get emailed to them and be filed in Jarvis' databanks to be looked over by Pepper and Tony's lawyers. Little Bria would have to get used to having four aunts and five uncles. "Has she ever said anything about that?"

"No, she hasn't," Olivia replied. "She hasn't said anything except..."

"Except what?" Steve asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I've figured out that her home before this probably wasn't that good," Olivia finished with a grimace.

"Nothing else?" Bucky asked, bringing his metal arm up to hover over Brianna's leg.

"No. Other than the three scars on her body, there was nothing else," Olivia remarked, typing in something on her computer.

"Three?" Steve repeated, glancing at Olivia with a confused frown. "We only saw two."

"She has one on her right arm," Olivia replied. "One that doesn't require any treatment though. As far as I know, it doesn't hurt her."

Bucky moved to gently unroll little Bria's sleeve on her right arm and stopped when the red shirt was at her shoulder. The third scar was faint but there, a jagged line of faded, raised pink.

"This has the look of a knife wound," Bucky commented, glancing up at Steve. "Or dagger."

"Knife wound?" Olivia repeated, raising her eyebrows. "Are you sure?"

Bucky nodded. "I know what knife wounds look like."

Olivia shuddered but otherwise didn't comment.

"You don't know anything about her previous home?" Steve asked quietly.

"No. However, she did have a mild British accent when she first came here," Olivia replied, taking the finished paperwork from Bucky.

"British, huh?"

Bucky exchanged a look with Steve then they both looked down at Brianna, who had fallen asleep in Steve's arms.


	3. Chapter 3

As the matron was finishing up the paperwork, she flicked her gaze up to where the two new parents were. Steve Rogers and James Barnes were staring down at Brianna, who was in Steve's arms. Olivia smiled and typed the last pieces of information in and the knock on the door was at least halfway expected.

She noticed Steve and Barnes start a little and Brianna sleepily opened her eyes. Olivia got up and opened the door to find Madison standing in the hallway with a small backpack. The older girl stared up at her then behind her at Brianna, smiling a little.

"I figured she was getting a new family," Madison said, shrugging and handing the backpack to Olivia. "Here. It has all of her belongings in it. She's already holding onto her bear so that's all of it."

Barnes drew off from the other two and stared down at Madison. "You were the one to watch over her?"

Madison nodded.

"Thank you," Barnes said, taking the backpack from Madison then turning to look at Steve when a phone started to ring. Olivia raised an eyebrow when the national anthem came on and looked between the both of them.

Steve groaned and reached into his pocket with the hand that wasn't holding Brianna. Olivia heard him mutter something about, _Tony, not again._

* * *

Brianna looked between her new parents then glanced at Steve's other hand where he was holding the phone.

"Looks like Tony sent us a car," Steve commented then looked down at her. "Would you be comfortable with meeting the others this evening? I think it's Bruce's night to cook."

Bucky came over and stood alongside Steve, with a small grin on his face. "The others aren't bad, if you're wondering about that. It's not Stark's turn to cook, at least."

"Or we could go out to dinner, just the three of us," Steve added.

"Start the indoctrination early, huh pal?" Bucky muttered, sliding in inch or two away from Steve. Steve snorted, lightly elbowed Bucky in his side then glanced down at Brianna. She glanced between the two then ducked her head down into Steve's shoulder, giggling.

"Should I be worried?" Olivia questioned.

Brianna turned to look at the matron then up at Steve and at Bucky. Her new parents both had worried frowns on their faces, like they had stepped over a line or something.

Brianna smiled. "'M not worried. He's Captain America and he was the Winter Soldier! Nothing's going to happen to me."

"Damn right it won't," Steve murmured under his breath. Brianna stiffened a little and turned back in Steve's arms to look at him then relaxed when she realized that his statement had been sincere.

"You're not scared of me?" Bucky asked, coming to once again stand alongside Steve and looking at Brianna. "Some adults and teenagers are."

"I'm not scared easily," Brianna replied quickly. "You just have a metal arm. Could we go eat? I'm hungry."

"Well, do you have a favorite food?" Bucky asked, after exchanging a significant glance with Steve.

Brianna thought for about a minute then lit up. "Spaghetti?"

Steve and Bucky both grinned down at her.

"Spaghetti it is," Steve replied. "I think I know the perfect place to go to."

"Are we done?" Bucky asked, turning to glance at Olivia.

"Yes, you're done," Olivia replied. "I'll email the copies and a copy of her file over to you."

"And to Stark Industries?" Bucky mentioned as he handed the small backpack down to Brianna. She took it, opened it and dropped her bear into it, closed it and put it on her back.

"If that is what you want," Olivia answered. "I will."

Brianna looked at Steve then spoke, gesturing to the floor and to Madison, who was still standing in the doorway. "Could you... I want to say goodbye."

Steve smiled a little, lowering her down immediately. "Yeah, of course."

Brianna slowly walked over to where Madison was and the older girl promptly drew her into a hug. "Bye."

* * *

Brianna slipped her hand into Bucky's metal hand when he held it out to her as they walked out of the facility.

"Can you feel?" Brianna asked, skipping down the sidewalk in between Steve and Bucky.

Bucky glanced down at her, raising an eyebrow. "Feel?"

"Yeah, like temperatures and fabric?" Brianna said, shivering a little. "Your arm, I mean?"

"Yes, I can feel things," Bucky replied, smiling. "Stark fixed it as soon as Steve here brought me back."

"Stark?" Brianna asked, looking up at both of them. "Who's that?"

"He's Iron Man," Steve said, glancing out at the street but still smiling. "You don't know him?"

"No, at least, I don't think so," Brianna replied hesitantly. "I lived in London for up until two weeks ago."

* * *

"This will be fun to watch then," Bucky commented then narrowed his eyes when Brianna shivered again.

"Ah, there's Happy," Steve called out then turned to them. "Brianna, do you have a jacket you could wear?"

"Yeah," Brianna replied, stopping and trying, unsuccessfully, to pull her pack off.

Steve smiled a little and knelt down, gently pulling off her shoulders. He opened it and searched around for a warmer jacket. It looked like a knitted sweatshirt with a...

"This has a 'B' on it," Steve remarked as Brianna turned to hold up her arms. "Does that mean it was made for you?"

Both Steve and Bucky watched as Brianna's eyes widened.

"I... yeah," Brianna said, voice gone a little quiet. "From a mom of a friend of mine's."

"That was nice of the woman," Bucky replied quietly, helping the sweatshirt over Brianna's head and down her body. "Are you still friends with whoever it was?"

Brianna shook her head. "No, he's dead."

Bucky stilled and glanced at Steve to see that he had the same reaction.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Steve said. "Come on. Let's go."

Brianna hopped into the waiting car and when Steve and Bucky slid in, whoever was driving the car took off. She stared out the window as the car drove through the streets of New York City and squeaked some when hands came around her.

"Can't have you rolling around the car," Steve said as he picked her up and placed her on his lap.

"But I wanna' be a roly-poly bug," Brianna said, grinning and curling up into a small ball. "Oh!"

Steve and Bucky both laughed.

"Aren't you a little big to be a bug?" Bucky asked, peering down at her and grinning.

"Nope!" Brianna exclaimed, shuffling over to sit between them.

* * *

"Here we are, Captain."

Brianna watched as Steve called back to the head of the car. "Thanks Happy."

"Your welcome. Would you like to walk back to the Tower or shall I come get you three when you call me?"

She glanced between Steve and Bucky as they looked at each other then down at her.

"We can take turns carrying her," Bucky murmured. "It's not that far from the tower anyway."

Steve nodded. "That sounds good. Happy, you can go now."

Brianna got out of the car with her two new parents and watched as the car drove away.

"Come on little bug," Bucky coaxed, holding out his hand. Brianna caught up to them and slipped one hand into Bucky's metal hand and one into Steve's right hand.


	4. Chapter 4

"Do you have any favorite movies?" Bucky asked as they were waiting for their food. They were sitting in a circular booth in the corner and Brianna was sitting in the middle.

Brianna was glancing around everywhere. Steve and Bucky had led her to a curtained off area that was in the back of the diner. But the people who were eating hadn't even looked at the Avengers as if the superheroes came here regularly. "No. But I want to see... uh, the others were talking about Disney? What is that?"

Steve and Bucky stared at her in a kind of horror. Brianna glanced between them, with a small frown.

"You haven't seen any Disney movies?" Steve exclaimed.

Brianna shook her head.

"You mean you haven't seen Brave? This is... this is horrible!"

She turned her head to see another man coming up to their table, followed by a red-haired woman. They were both normal looking but Bucky and Steve had looked normal and they were superheroes.

"Barton, fancy seeing you here," Bucky asked, narrowing his eyes but nodding at the woman.

"We were in the neighborhood."

"Right..." Bucky trailed off, with a knowing smirk. "This diner's in the same neighborhood as the tower. You just wanted to get a look at our... daughter."

Brianna shuffled a little closer to Steve as the two people came up to their table and stopped. He looked down at her and smiled reassuringly.

"Brianna, this is Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff," Steve gestured to each one. "They're Avengers too. Guys, this is Brianna Evans."

Brianna glanced at Clint then at Natasha, her jaw dropping. "You're Hawkeye, aren't you?"

Clint smiled at her. "Uncle Clint, at your service."

Brianna giggled then turned to look at Natasha. "Black Widow?"

"Yes," Natasha replied a little hesitantly.

"Otherwise known as Aunt Tasha," Clint whispered to her.

Brianna laughed as Natasha frowned then elbowed Clint in the side.

"Natasha, what was that for?!" Clint exclaimed.

"Are the others here too?" Bucky asked, looking around and sliding over to sit on Brianna's other side to make room for the others.

"Thor and Jane are having a night out," Bruce answered, appearing behind Natasha and Clint. "Tony is still in his lab."

Brianna's eyes widened. "Are you the Hulk?"

* * *

Bruce stared at Steve and Bucky's new kid in wonder. There was something different about her, like she...

"Yeah, I can turn into the Hulk," Bruce replied, watching as both Steve and Bucky peered down at Brianna. They were both kind of staring at her in wonder, like they were already half in love with her.

"Can I see the Hulk?" Brianna asked, staring at him curiously.

"You can see him," Steve replied as Brianna glanced up at him. "But only on the tv screen, okay?"

"Ahh, but I've stood in front of wer..." Brianna stopped abruptly then grinned a little sheepishly.

"You've what?" Bucky asked, raising an eyebrow.

Brianna stared for a second then gasped. "I forgot to tell Fawkes that I got adopted! I..."

"Fawkes?" Steve repeated. "Who's that?"

"He's... my friend," Brianna said and smiled a minute later. "He'll be able to find me, right?"

"When you say friend, what exactly do you mean?" Clint asked as all of them narrowed their eyes.

"He's a phoenix," Brianna replied, peering up at each of them.

"Oh, you mean a stuffed animal that's a phoenix?" Bucky asked, exchanging a glance with Steve.

Brianna shook her head vehemently, her hair moving with her. "No. He's real! But I... I think he can find me on his own."

"Have you ever seen a stuffed animal that looks real?" Bruce asked them as Brianna started to attempt to pull the box of crayons toward her.

"I saw one that looked like a hawk," Clint answered thoughtfully.

"Of course you did," Natasha said, smiling at Clint. "You probably have it in your quarters."

Clint gasped, mock hurt. "Natasha, you came into my quarters? I wouldn't have expected it of you!"

Brianna giggled and the five of them smiled.

Bruce, Natasha and Clint all slid into the booth and started to chat together. Steve occasionally saw them peer down at Brianna but he noticed that none of them were nervous or otherwise agitated.

Steve reached out and moved the crayons over toward them and opened it for her. "What are you going to draw?"

Brianna glanced up at him then narrowed her eyes in thought. "I don't know."

"I was an artist before I became Captain America," Steve remarked, picking up a brown crayon. "Do you like to draw?"

"You were an artist?" Brianna asked, studying the crayons and then picked up a green crayon.

"Yes, I drew a lot of things," Steve explained, starting to draw on the paper that was over the table.

"Did you draw... What did you draw?" Brianna started to draw while Steve watched her.

"Well, I drew Buck many times," Steve commented, turning to smile at Bucky who was watching them with a small smile.

Brianna glanced up at Bucky then at Steve and finally down to the paper. "I'm gonna draw a... horse."

"With green?" Bucky asked then shrugged a little. "Actually, I think I've seen a green horse."

Brianna glanced at him, tilting her head. "Horses aren't green!"

Bucky grinned. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure," Brianna retorted, pouting and returning the green crayon to the box. She hummed thoughtfully then picked out the black crayon.

"The Hulk's green," Steve said, starting to draw his own picture.

Brianna glanced up at Bruce then shrugged and started to draw.

* * *

"Oh, food's here," Bucky commented, peering down at Brianna's drawing. Steve was drawing what looked like a shield with a star in it. Brianna was drawing...

"I've never seen horses with wings before," Bucky commented, ruffling Brianna's hair to get her to look up. She did, frowning a little. "And those are more... spooky than normal horses too. They're all skeletal."

Steve turned to glance at her drawing too. "Is that from a dream? Sometimes I pull ideas for drawing from a dream."

Brianna shook her head as Bucky pushed the crayons out of the way for the waitress to place the small plate of pasta before her.

"No," Brianna said, eyes lighting up at the food. "I've seen thestrals before."

"Thestral?" Steve asked, exchanging a curious glance with Bucky and the others.

"I've never heard of thestrals," Bruce remarked, glancing over their way as another waiter came and dropped off food for them. "They're not a recorded species of animal."

Steve drew over Brianna's plate and started to cup up the spaghetti for her. She watched him then hesitated a little.

"I don't have to do anything for a meal, right?" Brianna asked quietly, looking up at Steve and Bucky then quickly looking away.

Chatter around the table stopped in its tracks as every member of the avengers that were there turned to look at Brianna. Steve, Bucky, Natasha and Clint all looked horrified.

"Sweetheart, you do not have to do anything at all to be able to eat," Steve said, still worried at what that question meant.

"What are the names of your previous parents?" Bucky asked, looking ready to kill someone.

Brianna turned to look back at them. "The Dursley's. Why?"

"Children aren't suppose to have to do anything for a meal," Bucky replied, mentally filing away the last name for later. He flexed his metal arm a little, itching to talk to Jarvis right now and find out who Brianna's previous family was. "Your parents are suppose to provide for you."

"What did your first family make you do?" Steve questioned, pushing the cut up pasta back over to her.

"They... made me cook," Brianna replied, slowly picking up her fork. "And clean. That too."

Bucky stared, narrowed his eyes. "You won't have to cook or clean anymore."

Steve sighed. "We'll take care of everything from now on. You won't have to cook or clean anymore."

Brianna smiled widely and jumped up to hug Bucky and Steve, who both jumped a little then embraced her.

* * *

"Natasha, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Bucky asked as they walked home. Brianna was fast asleep in Steve's arms, her arms around his neck. Bucky was carrying her backpack and had glanced through it briefly. It only had one change of clothes and no clothes for the summer or the winter. They would have to go shopping sometime in the morning, get some sturdy winter jackets and sweatshirts for her to wear. It wasn't a particularly cold winter evening so they passed people on their way home from nights out.

"Jarvis will be able to find out who her parents were," Natasha answered, nodding a little.

Bucky sighed, glanced at Steve and Brianna and smiled. "She also has an injury that she was born with. A scar on her left leg that hurts her occasionally."

"Does she take anything for that?" Natasha asked idly as they walked.

Bucky pulled out the container of lotion and handed it to her. "The woman that helped us with her gave us this."

He saw Natasha look it over. "You said that she was born with the injury?"

"We're going to ask Bruce to look at it tomorrow," Bucky replied, frowning.

"I can definitely do that," Bruce cut in. "She's adorable."

Steve turned to look at Bucky and smiled. "Yeah, she is."

"Are you going to change her last name?" Clint asked, glancing in between the two of them.

"If... she wants to," Bucky answered.

"Perhaps her last name would help in finding whoever her former parents were," Bruce remarked.

"Evans?" Steve asked, as they turned the corner and stepped into Avengers Tower.

"That... it's actually a good idea," Bucky commented, running a hand through his hair.

* * *

"Good evening, avengers," Jarvis spoke as they entered the elevator.

Steve glanced around the elevator at his team then glanced at Brianna and smiled.

"Jarvis, is Tony still in his lab?" Bruce asked as the elevator started up. Steve and Bucky's floor was the first one in the tower so they didn't have to wait long for it to stop. He could see Brianna wriggle around a little in Steve's arms then open up her eyes, yawning.

"Are we there yet?" Brianna asked sleepily, her words a little slurred with sleep.

Bruce smiled and watched as the others tried to hide their smiles.

"No, he is not," Jarvis replied, sounding a little...

Steve frowned. "Jarvis, is something wrong?"

"No. I have only been told to not spoil the surprise."

"Well, that's ominous as fuck," Clint remarked then sighed as Steve and Bucky glared at him. "We're going to have to watch our swearing, aren't we?"

Bucky grinned. "At least until she's older, Barton."

"What's Tony been up to now?" Natasha asked.

"He has been acting really suspicious lately," Bruce replied as the elevator door opened.

"Thor did say something about his brother," Steve added as they walked out. He glanced behind him as they all followed. Brianna was looking all in all directions, eyes wide but not too much. She was obviously still sleepy.

Bucky stopped alongside Steve and glanced around their floor and stared at where Tony was standing. Tony was standing in front of the door to a room that the two of them didn't use at all and were thinking of using for the child's room.

"About time you guys got here," Tony said, gesturing for them to walk up to them.

"Uh, Stark? What did you do?" Bucky asked, raising an eyebrow.

"When your papers came into the Stark Industries database that I have for all of you guys," Tony started. "I designed this."

Steve stared at his teammate and watched him open the door. Tony was kind of pointing at the room like he was a salesman trying to sell a car or something equally big. He strode over to the doorway and gaped.

There was a small twin bed, adequate for an eight year old in the middle of the room. It had an avengers quilt on it, with all of them on it. There was a moderate sized dresser next to it, with a lamp on it and an alarm clock. When Steve walked further into the room, he turned and saw that the closet had a few clothes in it. There was also a little nightlight that looked like Steve's shield plugged into an outlet near the bed.

Two comfortable looking chairs were sitting on opposite sides of the bed, ready to be sat in.

"How did you know her size?" Steve asked as they all filed in. Bucky stopped and laughed at the avengers quilt.

"Does it have avengers on the sheets too?" Bucky asked, teasingly.

Tony turned to look at him. "Oh, haha, Barnes."

Clint went over to the bed and lifted the quilt then nodded. "Yep, it does."

"I looked up her files in the facility," Tony replied, turning to look at Steve and Brianna. "I suppose I'll have to meet her in the morning though. I also was going to fix up an additional bathroom for her but I can do that later. Yours now has a stepstool in it."

Bucky glanced at Brianna, who had again fallen asleep on Steve's shoulder.

"Thanks, Tony," Steve said, going over to the bed and lowering Brianna onto it. Bucky drew out the shirt that looked like she had slept in it from her backpack and helped Steve to undress Brianna and put her sleepshirt on.

"You're welcome," Tony replied quietly then glanced at the others. "Alright, nothing to see here. Move along."

Bucky snickered then went back to his task.

Brianna yawned, sleepily blinked her eyes open, and helped them. As soon as they were done, they helped her brush her teeth and use the bathroom.

"Is this home now?" Brianna asked, as they helped her into bed.

Steve nodded and smiled. "Yes, if you like."

Bucky rolled his eyes but nonetheless smiled. "We're just down the hallway, if you need us, okay?"

"Okay..." Brianna replied, falling asleep with a smile on her face.


End file.
